Myanmar rebels take control of key town near Chinese border

Reuters :
A Myanmar rebel alliance has gained control of a key town along the country’s volatile northern border with China after weeks of fierce fighting with junta troops, the alliance and the junta said.
The Three Brotherhood Alliance, as the group is known, said on Friday it had taken over Laukkai town after the military’s regional headquarters located there surrendered.
The fall of Laukkai is the rebels’ latest victory in a sweeping offensive that began in October and has become the most significant threat to Myanmar’s military government since it seized power in a 2021 coup.
“All Kokang (Laukkai) region has become a land with no Myanmar Military Council anymore,” the rebels said in a statement.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told local media Popular News on Saturday that the military had decided to surrender after “great consideration.”
The alliance comprises three groups with extensive fighting experience – the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army.
They were accompanied by people from the loosely organised People’s Defence Force, supported by Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, suggesting that the rebellion is taking on an increased level of coordination and planning.